I’m so excited to have come across your site!! You’ve seriously done so much work and I appreciate it! I’m researching this keto life and plan to jump in once we are back from vacation for a lifestyle change for myself and my husband too! Looking forward to learning more and loving your meal plans! Glad to see 12 weeks! I know I won’t get bored! Thanks so much!
Magnesium citrate is an osmotic laxative, which relaxes your bowels and draws water into your intestines. It's an important mineral to help your organs function. Magnesium is obtained from green vegetables, nuts and whole-grain products. It's important to eat as many green vegetables and nuts as you are allowed to as your intake of whole-grain foods on the ketogenic diet will be severely limited.

The first month or two on keto you may experience some strange periods (aka. Shark Week.) Don’t be alarmed. When you lose weight and your body detoxes from sugar and excess carbs, all kinds of hormonal changes (for the better) occur. Initially though, you may experience heavier periods than normal, more extreme PMS symptoms, etc. This is normal, and while it’s inconvenient it shouldn’t last more than a few months at the most.If your weight loss is rapid on keto (let’s hope), you may also lose more hair than normal for a month or two. It can be disconcerting, but it’s not permanent and will stop when your hormones regulate.

One thing many people love about keto diet meal plans is that tracking your food is optional. "One of the biggest benefits of the ketogenic diet is that there's no need to meticulously track your calories like you may in other diets," notes Dr. Josh Axe, D.N.M., C.N.S., D.C., founder of DrAxe.com, best-selling author of Eat Dirt, and cofounder of Ancient Nutrition. "Because you're filling up on fat and protein, you're more likely to feel satisfied and energized all day long, which causes you to naturally eat less." This isn't to say that food tracking on keto is discouraged. "Some people may find calorie counting a useful tool to be more mindful and aware of what they're eating, but it's not necessary on the ketogenic diet," says Dr. Axe, but there's no need to get too stressed about hitting a certain caloric goal, especially if you're not trying to lose weight. (Related: The #1 Reason to Stop Counting Calories)
Probably, and there are a few reasons why, Keatley says. For starters, people usually reduce their daily caloric intake to about 1,500 calories a day because healthy fats and lean proteins make you feel fuller sooner—and for a longer period of time. And then there’s the fact that it takes more energy to process and burn fat and protein than carbs, so you're burning slightly more calories than you did before. Over time, this can lead to weight loss.
The keto diet is one of the most effective that I’ve come across and one of the more straightforward (as opposed to easy!) to follow. In a nutshell, when you’re on a keto diet, you eat a very low-carb, high-fat diet. That means goodbye pasta and bread, hello cheese and oils. It’s pretty much the opposite of what we’ve been taught our entire lives. But it works if you follow the keto diet food list. Plus, you can make many favorite recipes keto-friendly.
OMG! This was so good, and so easy! My husband raved about it, and my 13 and 15 year old son and daughter loved it too! I’ll definitely make it again! I had no clue what I was going to make for dinner–but it had to be fast as I was heading out with a friend to see some live music in the city… so I just googled “Keto ground beef” and found your recipe. Instead of pickles, I put pickled jalapeños on top (my son had once again eaten all of our pickles). I didn’t find that it needed any condiments – we have reduced sugar ketchup on hand, but hubby didn’t feel it was needed. I cut the casserole into 6 servings, and it’s a good thing there are only 4 of us eating as my son and husband had seconds. I found my single portion very filling. The recipe far exceeded my expectations! Will definitely make this again!
The ketogenic diet has recently become very popular, and many food companies want to cash in by putting a “ketogenic” or “low carb” label on a new product. Be very cautious of special “keto” or “low-carb” products, such as pastas, chocolate bars, energy bars, protein powders, snack foods, cakes, cookies and other “low carb” or “ketogenic” treats. Read all labels carefully for natural low carb ingredients. The fewer ingredients the better.
You’ll need to eat plenty of avocado, coconut, olive oil, beef, chicken, low starch veggies, etc. Strict Paleo avoids both dairy and soy products – I’d start there and eliminate some of the carbs they allow and you should find plenty of recipes you can use for ketosis. Also try the Whole 30 which isn’t keto but eliminates dairy, soy and a few other common allergens and I lose weight on it every time even when I’m not in ketosis. Hope that helps and that you find something that works for you!
UPDATE: Hi! It’s been 4 weeks already. I am still cooking keto and enjoying many delicious dessert too! I have finally convinced my husband to totally convert to keto food. It’s only been one week since he stopped using diet package food. He is very happy with the food he get to eat and still losing weight but much slower pace this week. That’s because I have been giving him larger portions as this is the first week for him. Since he was already on low carb diet prior to this, keto flue may be not as bad but still want to keep him happy and better transition experience. Meanwhile, I get to cook keto for the whole family and really enjoying the new way of eating and cooking. I have lost total of 6 lb but that was enough to prove to my husband eating bacon and butter is ok as long as we are on keto diet. I was only doing this to convert my husband since he doesn’t have any interest in nutrition or theory behind it, so what he sees is what he believes. 6 lb may not sounds a lot for 4 weeks but I was already below average weight , so it was a lot of loss for me. I think it’s a science 5-30-65 combination works on everyone. Now I just eat more portions of everything ,so we can still eat same food. Today, he had a once a week appointment with his ideal protein dietitian. Seems like they are not convinced that he can still continue to lose weight unless he eat their packaged food. I plan to continue sending him there for once a week appointment , so he sill have something to be accountable for. Next few weeks, I’m hoping he won’t be as hungry so I can start portion control his food without his knowledge, LOL.
I love this! I am an amateur powerlifter and I have recently started using the keto diet as there is only so much gained by being a fat powerlifter but working out my macros was driving me nuts as I also work as a disability support worker and need to take meals and so on to work with me. Thanks to this I can now have better control of the macros to bring my weight down without doing to much harm to my lifts! Thank you for this!
In many developing countries, the ketogenic diet is expensive because dairy fats and meat are more expensive than grain, fruit and vegetables. The modified Atkins diet has been proposed as a lower-cost alternative for those countries; the slightly more expensive food bill can be offset by a reduction in pharmaceutical costs if the diet is successful. The modified Atkins diet is less complex to explain and prepare and requires less support from a dietitian.[54]
It seems strange that a diet that calls for more fat can raise “good” cholesterol and lower “bad” cholesterol, but ketogenic diets are linked to just that. It may be because the lower levels of insulin that result from these diets can stop your body from making more cholesterol. That means you’re less likely to have high blood pressure, hardened arteries, heart failure, and other heart conditions.

Protein: Keep in mind that keto is high-fat, and not high-protein, so you don’t need to eat very much meat. Too much protein turns into glucose in the body, making it harder to stay in ketosis. Stick to fatty cuts of grass-fed, pasture-raised, or wild meat, and wild-caught fish. Red meats, offal/organ meats, pork, eggs (preferably pastured), fish, shellfish, and whey protein concentrate.

Hi Valerie, I was the same way with coffee until I figured a way to wean mysel off of it by slowly adding decaf to my regular coffee. each day I would add more decaf and less regular coffee until eventually I would have a cup of decaf. it tastes the same but the caffeine effect is different Im not sure with soda though, but at least now you can try the half and half with regular soda and diet sodas in a cup. It may taste too sweet at first but you have to allow yourself to get used to it and gradually decrease the regular soda in the cup and add more diet soda. You can also lower your intake of it as well. These days they also have caffeine free soda as well so you have some weaning options instead of cold turkey. Your soda mixture will have just enough caffeine in it to prevent a migraine, but allow you to consume less caffeine eventually until you might try adding some water to your soda to wean yourself completely off of it. It’s worth a try.

I’m thinking about trying Keto for the very first time in order to help my hormone levels and lose some weight. As I scrolled through your menu plan, I clicked on some recipes. I noticed that they included fruits/veggies that weren’t included in the menu. For example, there are strawberries with your cream cheese pancakes and chocolate mousse. There is also red pepper with the chilli and lettuce with another item (maybe the chilli or the tuna?) Are these items calculated in the carb count for the plan? I have NO CLUE how to calculate net carbs or even calculate carbs using fresh fruits/veggies. Are there any fresh fruits/veggies that are freebies like lettuce or cucumbers? I really don’t want to botch this and feel even worse or lengthen the keto flu. Finally, do I need to factor in vitamins that I’m taking (Magnesium, B complex, and D3? Do they have any carbs that I wouldn’t expect? TIA for any insight you can provide.

When you eat tons of carbs, your blood sugar is consistently elevated, and then so is insulin. Insulin is a hormone that keeps your blood sugar in check by shuttling the glucose into cells, but when there’s a consistently high amount of insulin, your cells become resistant. This insulin resistance makes it easier to store fat, and chronically high levels of insulin also cause excessive inflammation in the body, which contributes to heart disease, high blood pressure, and potentially type 2 diabetes.
Some people on a keto or low carb diet choose to count total carbs instead of net carbs. This makes it more difficult to fit in more leafy greens and low carb vegetables (which are filled with fiber), so you should only try that if you don’t get results with a net carb method. And, start with reducing sugar alcohols and low carb treats before deciding to do a “total carbs” method.
This was delicious! It will be my new go to easy dinner from now on. I did make a couple of changes though. I swapped the pickles out for jalapenos, doubled the bacon, and added a dollop of Primal Kitchens chipotle lime mayo on top of my serving along with some hot sauce and it was perfect! It reminded me a lot of In-n-Outs animal style cheeseburger.

You’ll just have to search for some recipes that are low carb and dairy free! Week 5 of my keto menu plans is mostly dairy free and easily made completely dairy free. I have also started a pinterest board where I’m collecting low carb recipes that are also dairy free and I’ll be working on adding more recipes to that. You might also try searching for Paleo recipes, many of them are dairy free and can easily be made low carb as well! Hope that helps!

You’re transitioning. Your body is equipped to process a high intake of carbs and a lower intake of fat. Your body needs to create enzymes to be able to do this. In the transitional period, the brain may run low on energy which can lead to grogginess, nausea, and headaches. If you’re having a large problem with this, you can choose to reduce carb intake gradually.

Made this for the first time tonight, excellent! I read the comments before I started so I knew to beat the eggs well and drain the beef. Thank you to everyone who commented! I didn’t use pickles, instead I put a few dots of sweet relish on top of the beef/bacon layer then spread them out a bit. Not so keto friendly but there isn’t much in a portion and it’s much quicker than dealing with pickles. Hubby asked me what I thought of it as he went for seconds. I quite enjoyed this and he did too! I had much more beef than called for, I used all 3 eggs and beat them well before the whipping cream and yellow mustard went in.There was no eggy taste. I will definitely make this again!
It is also worth considering that eating a well balanced, keto diet is actually very expensive. For most people, following a low carbohydrate diet, rather than a no carbohydrate diet, is much more practical – as it will also allow for the inclusion of fruit and all vegetables. This represents much better dietary balance and usually leads to people sticking with it for longer.

When you said the following my inhibitions dropped to zero. Probably because I just could not stop laughing, and the reality at the base of your putting it this way -“Don’t obsessively plan everything and overwhelm yourself so it feels harder than it has to. This may be controversial for some, but I’m here to tell you not to worry about calories, or nitrates, or Omega 3 vs Omega 6, or if the meat you’re eating skipped about on acres of lush pastureland, while being hand fed organic vegan feed by the tiny perfect hands of 1000 virgin milkmaids.”

Hi there. I’ve been off the low carb band wagon for TOO long now (years!) and weight has been creeping up to a disgusting level and cravings are through the roof. I’ve been trying to get back on track the last two days but accidentally had a bit of chocolate last night and too many cream cheese “clouds” from another low carb site and your truffles!. However, I’ve lost 800g so hopefully heading towards ketosis. Am going to start following your plans though as it is so great to have some structure and know what works for other people rather than re-creating the wheel and experimenting! So thank you so much for putting these plans and recipes together!
Hi Kelly, All packaged foods will have a nutrition label that list the macros per serving, including fat, protein and cabrohydrates. Net carbs, which is what most people look at for low carb and keto, are total carbs (the amount on the label) minus fiber and sugar alcohols, as explained in the article above. I have a low carb food list here that gives you a full list of all the foods you can eat, and the net carbs in each. You can also sign up above to be notified about the meal plans, which are a great way to get started.
The popular low-carb diets (such as Atkins or Paleo) modify a true keto diet. But they come with the same risks if you overdo it on fats and proteins and lay off the carbs. So why do people follow the diets? "They're everywhere, and people hear anecdotally that they work," McManus says. Theories about short-term low-carb diet success include lower appetite because fat burns slower than carbs. "But again, we don't know about the long term," she says. "And eating a restrictive diet, no matter what the plan, is difficult to sustain. Once you resume a normal diet, the weight will likely return."